Hollywood Humanitarian and Multi-Hyphenate Entrepreneur

When you’re impossibly intelligent, stunningly beautiful, and mind-numbingly funny, the only way to remain relatable to the rest of the world is to stock up on extra doses of humility, humanity, and humor….

 Aisha Tyler is an American comedian, director, actress, and host of several successful talk shows, beginning with Talk Soup in 2001 and continuing with a seven-year run on The Talk (for which she was awarded an Emmy). She is currently the host of the long-running improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway, for the past nine seasons. Aisha also made history as the first black actress to become a season regular on Friends back in 2003. Until 2017, Tyler helmed a wildly popular podcast, Girl on Guy, featuring guests like Chris Rock, LL Cool J, Charlize Theron, and even her mom. The podcast still tops podcasting charts, four years on. She has also voiced a lead character, Lana Kane, on the animated series fan and Comic-Con’s favorite, Archer, since 2009. In addition, she has directed both film and Television, most recently acting in and directing Fear of the Walking Dead for AMC. She is also the author of several books, including her memoir Self-Inflicted Wounds, a good-humored collection of all her mistakes and the resulting lessons and victories. It is also a humble vehicle through which through which she downplays her success, as a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur with a career that spans over 25 years.

With all the talent, accomplishment, and beauty Aisha possesses, she seems averse to being idolized, or appearing in any way perfect, perhaps even accentuating and exaggerating her supposed flaws with humility and humor to ensure she connects with as many of her fellow humans as possible. 

Her adaptability and compassion are at the core of her likeability and longevity. 

Tyler celebrates her mistakes as stepping stones forward and an opportunity to learn. She shares with Forbes:

“What I realize as I have gotten older is specifically that it’s my errors that have provided the most opportunities for growth.”

She adds from her perspective as a stand-up comedian:

“You really never learn from the shows that go well; you really only learn from the shows that go poorly.”  

In Aisha’s aforementioned memoir, she shares that her biggest fear while performing was the possibility of having her fly down. Then, it happened. She says her own worst-case scenario being realized made her fearless in a way that ultimately helped her:

“Nothing bad can happen to you after that. The worst possible thing you could have imagined has happened, and nothing bad can happen now.”

Unfortunately, Aisha Tyler knows that most growth is forced:

“You will only transform when you are pushed to transform because people typically default to a comfort state.”

Experience, she says, makes us less self-conscious, perfectionistic, and afraid of missteps: “When I was younger, I was so concerned with making mistakes, I think especially when I first started out in my career, that I might have been a little more timid, less ambitious in terms of my personal scope and what I thought I could accomplish.” 

So, what changed?

Tyler says: 

“The more mistakes I made, I realized that I didn’t die after. The more I realized that engaging risk and engaging in potential failure is an ideal time for growth.’’

Growth she says requires risk and she has embraced the process and her own personal evolution: 

“I was learning, I was growing, I was always expanding, I was learning what my strengths are and if I found out I had a weakness I could work and develop that. It was a natural progression of growing and learning what I was capable of by stress-testing my own abilities.”

Still, she understands why some are afraid to put themselves out there: 

[Laughing] “Risk is risky.”

She says from experience:

“You might not succeed the first time, but the reward will be so much greater if you keep at it. Better to get out there and do the stuff we want to do, the stuff we are dreaming of. It is never too late. You need to consider what you lose if you don’t try.”

Instead of examining what could go wrong, Aisha advises us all to consider what could go right:

“Look at what you are chasing and where you are now and how much better off you will be if you succeed.”

Aisha Tyler has a message for Forbes readers who still have excuses and fears to contend with: 

“If they said to themselves, I’m going to actually run out here and do the thing that frightens me the most, how much bolder and braver that would make them in their entire life? If they were willing to say I am going to go out and do the thing that I am most afraid of. And then after that, what kind of bold things would they feel capable of doing?”

She says the good news is, “You just don’t know what you are capable of.’’

Another thing Aisha Tyler is passionate about, besides embracing risk and mistakes, is seeing Hollywood reflect the real world.

She also says that in real life, diversity is natural, and it’s not about an expected choice:

“I see people from all walks and all backgrounds doing all things.”

The Hollywood veteran says we operate in a comfort zone for diversity as well that we have what she calls — “a soft bias of familiarity.” 

 Aisha Tyler admits even she has that bias at times, despite making inclusion a priority when she is casting:

“When I want to make an unusual casting choice, a lot of times even I am like, is this going to work, will people accept it?”

She adds regarding inclusion on or behind the screen:

“It’s not about quotas.” 

When it comes to pushing for bolder casting, Aisha Tyler says:

“I like to use the word inclusion rather than diversity, or representation rather than diversity because I just want to see the world I already understand.”

She also wants to make sure the leadership goes beyond who’s on-screen:

“Diversity is not just about making sure you have a diverse cast. It is really about diversity behind the camera.”

Aisha shares extensively about her love for directing. She says what she loves about directing is the opportunity “to tell different stories about different kinds of people.”

Aisha Tyler has made kindness her hallmark as a businesswoman, actress, director, host, and decent human. She has a particular love for underdogs and outcasts; frequently amplifying human rights issues; using her platform to support refugees (like those fleeing Afghanistan), racial inequality, religious inequality, and much more: 

“I was an outsider when I was a kid, so I really know what it is like to be treated poorly.”

These early experiences make Aisha the consummate ally and humanist, greatly influencing her work. She elaborates:

“Some of what I do is just a natural response to that feeling [of being an outsider].”

Ms. Tyler says she’s a natural encourager because she genuinely believes in the greatness of those around her. “I just want to be a force for good.” She also believes in the golden rule, saying:

“I just try to treat people the way I would like to be treated. I do try to take the time to be as kind as I can.”

What about leadership?

 Aisha says:

“I think a lot more about leadership now that I direct. When you are a director, you get to care for everyone, and you get to make opportunities for everyone, and you get to create an environment where everyone gets to do their best work. It is such a collaborative art form and requires that you find a strong team and to empower them to do their very best work and make them feel like that they can brainstorm and that they can bring their ideas forth and that they can be heard and that they can come to a workplace that values them.” 

Aisha Tyler is also directing and leading outside of Hollywood, starting a thriving business with her award-winning artisanal beverage company Courage + Stone. Aisha created Courage+Stone in early 2020, comprised of quality ready-to-drink cocktails that could not have been more timely in a pandemic, with bars and restaurants in lockdown. Unsurprisingly, the company grew over 600%  in revenue last year.

Tyler says Courage + Stone is “about quality, not quantity.” Courage + Stone has been awarded for its quality products and design in Double Gold in Design Distinction at the 2020 Proof Awards for its sleek and stylish bottle design and the Double Gold Tasting Award in 2020.

She says it’s: “not[about] drinking more but drinking better.” She’s self-taught in creating elevated “classic cocktails” that she would like to drink. With whimsy and enthusiasm, she says:

“I am a serious adult lady; I would like to enjoy serious adult lady drinks!”

But her interests go beyond her own craft-beverage needs. She saw a broader appeal:

“Most people don’t have the time or the energy or the resources to [make their own artisanal cocktails].”

More than just convenience and quality, Aisha says she was also looking forward to bringing her unique perspective, exquisite taste, and background to the table, aware there were few women of color in the spirits industry:

“I think [the spirits industry] can be a very unwelcoming space for women of color and women, period.” 

Tyler says ethos is just as important as a mark of success for Courage + Stone: 

“We want to be a values-driven company and not just a profit-driven company.”

Aisha says leadership is:

“Leading by example first. Now that I have a company, I think about leadership a lot more. I think a lot more about leadership now that I direct” and she is learning to delegate and surrender certain tasks to others. Tyler says it’s hard, but she is working on relinquishing control: “I’m working on not having to do everything myself.”

So how does Aisha Tyler manage to balance all she has on her plate professionally with her need for self-care? First, in a move that would make Arianna Huffington proud, she has made sleep a priority: 

“I am focusing a lot more on rest. I just try to be better about making sure I get 8 hours of sleep and not feeling guilty about it.”

Sleep and personal care are essential for Tyler to serve more fully in her various capacities:

“I look at sleep and exercise as an aspect of my work.”

What legacy would Aisha Tyler like to leave behind? She says fostering creativity and inclusion is a lifelong mission for her: 

“I would just like to live a radically creative life, and I would like to make a space for other historically excluded people and really everybody to live the most radically creative life that they can as well.”

And she hopes others will take worthwhile risks:

“You might not succeed the first time, but the reward will be so much greater if you keep at it. Better to get out there and do the stuff we want to do, the stuff we are dreaming of. It’s never too late.”

And one could argue, her legacy could also be leading by example for the rest of us, showing us that not all pioneering has to be loud. Change, representation, and inclusion can move through excellence… like Aisha Tyler herself, poised, articulate, and quietly powerful, ever-brave in trying new things and taking risks. 

Aisha Tyler has created a wide-ranging and long-standing mark on the world and all of us by asking and acting on one simple but powerful question, as a ‘stress test’ for all decisions she makes: ‘‘on my deathbed, am I going to regret this if I don’t take this risk?’’ Lucky for us and her legacy, her answer to that question is so often yes…. she says,

‘‘The only thing I will ever regret is regret.”